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This Path edited by Ginny Greene, Becky Haigler,
Kerin Riley-Bishop and Barbara B. Rollins Silver Boomer Books
book review by Deborah Straw
"I heard a voice calling, reminding me
of walks to the forgotten spring
of laughter, hope, love
and I reached up, a child again, to grasp my father's hand.”
- Lee Ardell, 'Oasis'"
Anthologies written by and for Baby Boomers are multiplying on a vast variety of topics: fathers, mothers, mentors, childhood memories. This Path presents the work of dozens of writers, mostly from the U.S. but also from a few far-flung spots. The essays and poems address the paths we've taken, planned or otherwise. Have our lives turned out as we expected? Who do we miss? What do we still want to do?
One oft-repeated topic is the loss of fathers; several poems and essays pay them homage. Especially poignant are the poems, 'Requiem for a Sailor' by David Davis and Oasis by Lee Ardell. 'In Breathing,' poet Janet Morris Klise paints a portrait of her aging father tethered to his oxygen tank.
Other period-specific topics include Chanukah (feeling left out in an otherwise totally Christian neighborhood), the Mousketeers, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and those darned dance classes.
An essay that stands out for its uniqueness is 'The Possum That Changed my Life' by Thelma Zirkelbach. Like many women, she felt she had become too dependent on her husband. After he died, she learned that she could do almost anything alone, in large part, because of an eerie nighttime experience. She discovered an opossum in her home. I'd handled the possum encounter with aplomb. Of the two of us, the possum was probably more frightened by the encounter.
As is true of most such anthologies, to which 100s of writers submit pieces, the writing is uneven. That said, for people of a certain age (including this writer), this book should provide a few sighs, a few laughs, and a few self-recognitions.